Lonely Island Mounts A Surprise Comeback On The Charts

The Lonely Island was never supposed to become a bona fide music success story. The comedy trio first found an audience on Saturday Night Live, where the group’s digital shorts turned sketch comedy into a viral phenomenon. What started as a series of quick-hit parodies soon evolved into a surprisingly fruitful musical career, complete with hit singles, bestselling albums, and even a big-screen soundtrack.

This week, two of The Lonely Island’s most popular projects reappear on Billboard’s Comedy Albums chart — and they manage to do so at the same time, sitting right next to each other.

Two Albums Return Side-by-Side

On the latest edition of the Comedy Albums list, Turtleneck & Chain reenters at No. 9. Just behind it, Incredibad comes back at No. 10. It’s not every week that an act sends a pair of different collections back to that ranking – or any Billboard roster – simultaneously, let alone in adjacent spots.

Hundreds of Weeks on the Chart

Turtleneck & Chain has now spent 226 weeks on the chart throughout its lifetime. Incredibad is more than a year behind, as it has thus far racked up 156 weeks on the tally.

A Streak of Chart-Topping Success

The Lonely Island has released three proper studio albums over the years — Incredibad, Turtleneck & Chain, and The Wack Album. All three climbed to No. 1 on the Comedy Albums chart.

Beyond those core releases, the trio also issued a soundtrack for the feature film Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, as well as a similar effort in The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience. Both of those titles also spent time at No. 1 on the Comedy Albums chart.

The Only Act with Several Current Hits

The Lonely Island is the only name on the Comedy Albums chart this week that manages to appear more than once. Last frame, that honor belonged to Monty Python, though at the moment, only Monty Python and the Holy Grail: The Album of the Soundtrack of the Trailer of the Film of Monty Python and the Holy Grail – yes, that’s the full name – still lives on. At the moment, that set climbs a single spot to No. 6.